The year was 1798 and tobacco farming was at its peak. This was also the year that Judith Randolph who was Richard Randolph’s wife founded the town of Farmville, Virginia. When the town was first established it was part of a well-established tobacco plantation named Bizarre. Bizarre was owned by Judith Randolph and her family. Judith sold Bizarre to establish the town of Farmville. The reason that they wanted the town was because they wanted to put a tobacco inspection station in the town and benefit in having access to the Appomattox River to provide a shipping route for their tobacco.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The town of Farmville is laced with history. Visiting the town, you will see a fair number of historical markers; Bizarre is one of those markers.  The marker is located on the sidewalk in front of Poulston’s TV and Appliance Store on Main Street which is across from the Appomattox River.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The appliance store is not officially on Bizarre property because of how the boundary of the plantation was laid out. Billy Poulston, Historian of the Farmville Historical Society who works at the appliance store said, “The only reason I work at the store is because I started early in life working for the former owner and stayed there ever since.” Before working at the store Poulston did not know about any of the history on Bizarre and the Randolph’s. It is because the store is located at the Bizarre marker that he decided to learn about the history.

 

It is unknown who and when the Bizarre marker was put up, but it is suspected that it was by the State. Virginia’s historical marker program is the oldest such program in the nation beginning around 1927.  Initially, there was the Conservation and Economic Development Commission of Virginia responsible for creating these markers and later fell upon the Virginia Department of Highways.  Also, it is unknown who gathered up the information on Bizarre for the marker. Poulston said, “It was probably the civil service core or a history club that gathered up the information right after the depression which would have been in the early 1930s.”

 

Bizarre had land across the Appomattox River and down Hight Street. For a point of reference, the boundary for Randolph’s Bizarre property goes all the way to Davis GMC Truck Dealership on Route 15 about two and one-half miles from Longwood.  Also, three-quarters of a mile down that road was the Bizarre plantation house. There is nothing of that house today except for the land that it was placed on because the house burned down in 1813.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bizarre plantation and the Randolph family that owned the plantation played a big role in the founding of Farmville. During the founding of Virginia, the Randolph’s were rich and feared in the political world. They gained their wealth from tobacco, owning 104 slaves, building mansions, and having a family tree of statesmen, generals, and jurists. 

 

Slavery was big back when the Randolph’s were alive. Richard Randolph who was a prominent political figure had different opinions on the matter compared to other rich and political people. Even though he did have slaves he felt a strong sense of guilt for having them and sought their forgiveness. Historian for Prince Edward County Bob Flippin said, “Richard thought of African American's as our fellow creatures, equally entitled with ourselves to the enjoyment of liberty and happiness.”

 

It is because Richard felt so much guilt with owning slaves that he ended up giving four-hundred- acres of land to the ones he hoped to liberate. This land was from two thousand acres from both banks of the Appomattox River. Flippin said, "In his will, it was bestowed that the four-hundred-acre land grant was to be laid off by his wife Judith and given to the heads of families.”

 

The freed slaves called the land that they were given Israel Hill. A family member of the Morris, Nancy Morris said, “It is called Israel Hill because the slaves thought of themselves as the Israelites from Jerusalem because they were freed from bondage.” This land is located at the stretch of the Bizarre property near the Truck Dealership mentioned earlier. What this land provided the newly freed slaves was a means to build themselves houses and work the soil to make a living in agriculture.  There is actually another historic marker that captures this event located in Farmville at the intersection of West 3rd Street and Layne Street.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard Randolph and Judith Randolph did not start out living at the Bizarre house. It was not until November of 1790 that Richard and Judith decided to move to Bizarre. The reason for them moving there is because the house was smaller, the economy of the area was less developed, and Richard and she could support themselves better there.

 

There are various stories told about the Randolph family and one of those stories is called the tale of two sisters. The story is about Anne Cary Nancy Randolph and how she went to go live with her sister Judith and her husband Richard Randolph. According to the story as soon as Nancy moved in with Richard they started becoming enamored with each other. Poulston said, “Nancy and Richard would meet in secret down by the river.” Also, according to Poulston Nancy was supposed to be the pretty one between her and Judith.

 

Nobody knows why Nancy went to go stay with her sister Judith. Some people speculate it is because her mother died and other say it is because she no longer enjoyed the care and protection of her father Thomas Mann Randolph. Morris, said, “Judith was a newlywed and did not want her sister to stay with her but she decided to let her because she did not think she would stay long.”

 

What made Nancy and Richard’s relationship become a scandal was the night when the Richard, Judith, and Nancy stayed with Mary and Randolph Harrison at their house. It was on this night that Nancy started screaming in the middle of the night because she was in pain. Richard was seen at her bedside during this time. The next day a housekeeper found blood on the stairs and on Nancy’s bed sheets.

 

The scandal between Nancy and Richard caused Richard to have to go to court for being accused of trying to cause Nancy to have a miscarriage.  During the court case, it is rumored that Judith Randolph or a maid were peeping through the keyhole at Nancy and Richard. Poulston said about Patrick Henry who was one of the lawyers for Richard during the case said, “Patrick Henry said, “Which eye did you peep with.” Which brought laughter to the courtroom.”

 

 

 

 

Besides Judith Randolph or a maid peeping through a keyhole, other witnesses testified. None of the witnesses had the same story. One of the stories was that Nancy was not pregnant and another was that they thought Nancy was pregnant and had a relationship with Richard. In the end, Richard was declared not guilty for the crime of covering up the miscarriage. Morris said, “The reason that Richard was not declared guilty for the crime is because his wife Judith testified on his behalf.”

 

Life for Nancy was not so great. She was destitute and lived in a poor home. After the court case, there was a rumor that she was in a relationship with a slave. This is what caused her to get kicked out of Bizarre.

 

Through all of this Nancy ended up marrying Gouverneur Morris whom she met in 1788. Gouverneur Morris was a friend of Nancy’s family and knew her when she was younger. Morris said, “He took Nancy to his house to be his housekeeper and then fell in love with her.”

 

According to Poulston “There is no person worthy of marrying a Randolph except another Randolph.” This helps explain why Anne Cary “Nancy” Randolph and Richard Randolph became enamored with each other. It was because it was not uncommon for the Randolph’s to intermarry as with Nancy and Richard who were cousins. The result of this was that some of the family would become insane or mentally unstable. A prime example is John Randolph who was a skilled Oratorian who became a statesman but was mentally deficient.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No one knows why the house is called Bizarre. Some say it is because it refers to the irregular dimensions of its house which contrasted with the Georgian style of architecture that was favored by elites at the time. Flippin said, “The name Bizarre is not quite applicable because there is nothing bizarre about the Randolph’s house.” Others think the name comes from all of the events that took place at the house.

 

Since the Bizarre marker’s history plays a big role in the founding of Farmville you would think that the residents would know about the history. Poulston said, “I don’t think ten percent of the people living in Farmville know anything about the Randolph’s and if you mention Bizarre you would get a blank stare.” The only people that know of the history are the ones whose ancestry is related to Bizarre.

 

 

 

 

According to Poulston, not that many people come to see the marker. Poulston said, “Few people stop to take a picture, some will go over and read it, and some will take a picture of it.” Poulston also said, “More people come to Farmville for the High Bridge Trail then the marker.”

 

There is no one place you can go to learn about the Bizarre history. If you were to look up Bizarre online, you would not learn much but there are various books on the history. One of the books, for example, is called “Scandal at Bizarre” by Cynthia A. Kierner. The problem with the books is that they dramatize the history. On what articles have been written about the Bizarre scandal Poulston says “Finding someone screaming in the night is theatrics and bringing in the powerful attorneys like Patrick Henry is theatrics.”

 

 

 

In the end, the history of the maker does affect the town of Farmville still to this day. Without the Randolph’s there would be no Farmville. The whole downtown area of the town is land that was first owned by the Randolph’s. Poulston said, “I like to know about the history and it’s a curiosity and just like to know about what used to be.”